News archive
week ending 25 December 2009
Solar Aid
Less than a year ago Mr Nyirenda’s life was revolutionised by a small solar panel not much bigger than a paperback novel. If it was left in the daylight for five hours or so it would provide enough power through two wires with crocodile clips at the end to light a small LED bulb, charge a mobile phone or two rechargeable batteries that came with the pack. Those batteries could be used in small radios often a rural African community’s only link to the outside world. SolarAid does not believe in handouts but encourages people to buy the unit, sometimes with the help a micro-loan. That is then paid back with the money saved. Each unit markets at 4,500 Malawian kwatcha (about £19).
Times 24th Dec 2009 more >>
Geothermal Funding
Three projects have been awarded a total of £4 million from a DECC fund which aims to encourage the development of technology which uses the Earth’s heat and a power source.
New Energy Focus 24th Dec 2009 more >>
Community Wind
North Ayrshire Councillors have approved a six turbine, 18 megawatt (MW) community wind farm just east of West Kilbride on the boundary of Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park.
Green Wise 23rd Dec 2009 more >>
Yorkshire Biogas
WORK has started on a £10m waste-to-electricity plant on the outskirts of Driffield, which will create up to 30 new jobs. GWE Biogas will eventually process up to 50,000 tonnes of food waste each year and produce sufficient biogas to provide electricity to more than 2,000 homes.
Yorkshire Post 23rd Dec 2009 more >>
Scottish Biogas
An anaerobic digestion (AD) tank which will turn food waste into energy has been delivered to Scottish Water Horizons’ Deerdykes Organics Recyling facility in Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire. Scottish Water Horizons, the commercial arm of utility company Scottish Water, has welcomed the arrival of the £7 million food recycling unit which it claims will turn 30,000 tonnes of solid and liquid food waste into around 8000MW of power each year.
New Energy Focus 23rd Dec 2009 more >>
Hockerton
Sustainable Hockerton Limited has installed its own community wind turbine to generate renewable energy and make the village more sustainable.
Nottingham Evening Post 23rd Dec 2009 more >>
Chester Retrofit
High prices from energy suppliers are to be tackled at the Blacon housing estate in Chester through a range of measures including efficient retrofitting. Features such as efficient boilers, cavity wall and loft insulation and external cladding will be installed in as many as 800 homes owned by the Chester and District Housing Trust, which could reduce local energy bills by 20 per cent.
Energy Helpline 23rd Dec 2009 more >>
£15m per year wasted
Britain is wasting £15 million every day on energy bills because of leaky boilers, inefficient offices and draughty homes, business leaders have warned.
Telegraph 23rd Dec 2009 more >>
Property Rating
A property website is to allow buyers to search for homes by efficiency rating. NetMovers plans to introduce the feature by February next year that will rank all the properties on its database by efficiency rating and enable concerned prospective buyers to go directly to the homes that are likely to have the lowest emissions and energy bills. All properties are required to attain an Energy Performance Certificate, which allocates ratings between A and G, with A being the highest potential score.
Energy Helpline 23rd Dec 2009 more >>
Eaga
Eaga, the Newcastle-based green support services company, has announced that it expects to receive government cash for using microgeneration technology for power. The government s FIT scheme offers companies which adopt green technology for electricity payback rates of up to 40p per kWh. “In particular we continue to make good progress on the opportunities arising from the proposed introduction of feed-in-tariffs for domestic micro-generation.”
Rapid 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
Edinburgh Tenement gets Eco-refit
A previously deserted Edinburgh tenement has received a new lease of life and won ‘Inside Housing’s Sustainable social housing refurbishment project of the year (for multiple housing schemes) award. The judges were especially impressed by the success of the green refit as the building is part of the Edinburgh World Heritage Site. The refurbishment of two 19th century tenements to provide 17 energy efficient new flats was carried out by Who Assist Architects, Hillcrest Housing Association, and Clark Contracts. The new flats are highly insulated and heated by heat pump technology.
Green Building 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
Kirklees
A district of Huddersfield has won up to £500,000 in a Government competition which will see it become one of UK’s first low carbon communities. It is hoped that around 58 tonnes carbon could be saved each year as part of the challenge which will see low carbon technologies used to improve the energy efficiency in key buildings throughout the Hillhouse area. Kirklees Council will receive money to pay for 35 traditional stone-built Yorkshire terraces to receive low-carbon makeovers.
Yorkshire Post 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
Low Carbon Economy 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
Nottingham
A HUNDRED homes in Netherfield could be fitted with solar panels and a school fitted with a wind turbine if a bid by an environmental group is successful. Netherfield Eco Action Team (Neat) and Netherfield Forum are hoping to secure up to £500,000 to make the community, which has already launched several green projects, even more environmentally friendly.
Nottingham Evening Post 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
ASHP
Ecodan is a modern air source heat pump which harvests renewable energy from the outdoor air and upgrades it to provide a constant supply of hot water and heating. It can deliver at least 3.5kW of heating energy for every 1kW of electricity it consumes.
Plumbing Park 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
Berwick goes Solar
A NORTH East town hopes to harness the power of the sun after being chosen as a blueprint for sustainable living. Berwick has won up to £500,000 in the Government’s Low Carbon Communities Challenge and will use the money to pay for 50 homes to have solar panels installed.
Newcastle Journal 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
How Microgeneration Can Help
Micro-generation relies on communities, businesses and especially individual households employing an array of small-scale power-generating technologies to create electricity for their premises. When more is produced than consumed, energy is redistributed to meet the nation’s energy needs, and payment for the excess generated is offset against utility bills.
Telegraph 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
Low Carbon Blacon
Blacon will be one of only ten UK communities to be supported by the Department of Energy and Climate Change as it moves towards becoming a model sustainable urban community. Over 300 communities applied to the Low Carbon Communities Challenge, and now it is successful, Blacon will champion energy efficiency and help local people to cut a fifth off their gas and electricity bills.
The Drum 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
Place North West 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
Think Global Act Local
Letter: A groundswell of actions by individual communities led by local authorities, supported in turn by national government, is surely the most effective way of creating the climate for change that would tip our leaders into action.
Guardian 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
Haringey Dosh
We have won Government funding to become one of 20 ‘test bed’ low carbon communities.
We will use the £370k cash boost to evaluate energy reduction projects to benefit the community and the findings will inform national carbon budgets as well as UK policy.
Haringey Council 22nd Dec 2009 more >>
Muswell Hill will receive a grant to pay for solar panels to be installed at four schools to generate green electricity. The money will also fund a mobile sustainable learning unit, cycle parking and a community renewable energy company to manage the income from low carbon energy generation. This money will then be ploughed back into the community so all 1,800 residents can benefit from a low carbon lifestyle.
Haringey Council 21st Dec 2009 more >>
Dover Biomass CHP
Natural energy group Renewable Energy Generation Limited (REG) has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, REG Bio-Power, has signed a five year contract with the Port of Dover to supply electricity and heat from its biofuel-fired combined heat and power system (CHP) at the Port.
New Energy Focus 21st Dec 2009 more >>
Exeter
EXETER residents are being urged to show world leaders in Copenhagen the way forward in reducing emissions. Exeter City Council has already pledged its commitment to tackling climate change by joining the national 10:10 Climate Campaign, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its operations by 10 per cent in 2010. Across the country, 50,000 other people, businesses and organisations have made the same pledge.
Exeter Express & Echo 21st Dec 2009 more >>
Reepham
Reepham Town Council discovered its residents create an estimated 13,000 tonnes of CO2 per year - the equivalent of 20 hot air balloons every day, according to a survey by CRed at UEA and the Energy Saving Trust. But now the town is well on its way to becoming a shining example to the rest of the UK on how to cut carbon after winning half a million pounds as part of the government’s Low Carbon Communities Challenge. The project set out to find settlements which could provide a blueprint for sustainable living. Reepham has already launched the country’s first rural car club, a car sharing scheme, it is running the world’s first trials of using biofuel to heat homes and the town’s two schools and it ran a successful campaign to get homes in the town properly insulated.
East Anglian Daily Press 21st Dec 2009 more >>
Horticultural Carbon Saving
THE Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has made a step towards improving climate control by erecting a wind turbine in its garden at Harlow Carr in Harrogate. The 20m high, 15kW wind turbine will produce energy to supply the garden’s new carbon neutral learning centre and library with heat, power and light.
Business Desk 21st Dec 2009 more >>
Pembrokeshire Plan
An eco-village has won £350,000 for a centre for research, education and promotion of low-impact development. It will form the centrepiece of a community with nine smallholdings in Pembrokeshire’s Preseli Hills. It was one of 10 winning projects to share a £10m fund as part of the Low Carbon Communities Challenge.
BBC 21st Dec 2009 more >>
Western Mail 21st Dec 2009 more >>
Geothermal Plan
Plans to develop the UK’s first commercial-scale geothermal power station in Cornwall have secured nearly £1.5m of government funding. The power plant - using “hot rocks” technology - is to be based at Redruth and would provide electricity and heat for homes and businesses.
BBC 21st Dec 2009 more >>
Totnes Vision
A WESTCOUNTRY town could design the blueprint for “green living” after winning up to £500,000 in a Government competition. Totnes, in South Devon, is one of 10 communities across the country to benefit from a £10 million fund set up by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to reduce its carbon footprint.
Western Morning News 21st Dec 2009 more >>
Oxford Scheme
A grant of £500,000 has been awarded to an environmental group based in Oxford to help the town tackle high prices from energy suppliers by setting up microgeneration equipment. Low Carbon West Oxford will use the money to erect a wind turbine on Harcourt Hill and solar panels in two other locations, all of which will generate enough electricity to power 30 local homes, reports the Oxford Mail.
Energy Helpline 21st Dec 2009 more >>
Green-house
By 2016, the government says, all new homes will have to be zero carbon, and we will all be so used to superinsulation and microgeneration that a green house will once again be somewhere to grow tomatoes. A Quick Guide to get past the Eco-Waffle.
Find a Property 21st Dec 2009 more >>
Microgeneration Funding
Efforts by the European Union Commission to provide finance for those wishing to install microgeneration systems on their premises have been welcomed by General Electric (GE). The energy giant said that, with climate change currently being discussed at the Copenhagen conference, now is a good time to plan how nations worldwide can introduce measures to reduce their carbon output. GE is recommending the use of smart grids, which incorporate smart meters and microgeneration technology in order to create a more energy-efficient system and cut the cost of utility bills.
Rapid 18th Dec 2009 more >>
Scotland’s First Eco-House
THE Scottish Parliament have been asked to mark the opening of Scotland’s first ever affordable low-carbon eco house at South Lanarkshire College’s campus in East Kilbride. Central Scotland MSP Linda Fabiani has tabled a motion calling on the Parliament to welcome the official opening of Aurora House by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth of Scotland. The house has an A-rated energy certificate, a heat recovery system, thermal energy pumps and the capacity to create more energy than it uses.
East Kilbride News 16th Dec 2009 more >>
DIY
Solar panels and heat pumps are set to go mainstream as Sainsbury’s, working in partnership with EDF Energy, becomes the first supermarket to sell these and other home energy innovations in its stores.
Lets do DIY December 2009 more >>
